CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini women's basketball led a balanced attack on Sunday to earn a 77-57 victory over the USC Upstate Spartans. Five Illini put up double-digit scoring numbers in the contest, led by freshman Ali Andrews who posted a career-high 15 points. Freshmen Brandi Beasley and Courtney Joens joined Andrews in double-figures with career-high scoring numbers, and sophomore Alex Wittinger earned her third consecutive double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
"I'm happy today," head coach Matt Bollant said. "I thought our offensive rebounding was huge and that really gave us a lift. I thought Kennedy's (Cattenhead) energy and her doing all the little things was huge, and we challenged Ali (Andrews) to be the player we know she could be and she was today. I'm excited for our team, we did a good job of sharing the ball with 17 assists on 30 baskets, which is a better percentage than we 've had in the past. I'm pleased for our team today."
Alex Wittinger started the scoring for the Illini right off the bat on Sunday, putting up six first-quarter points to help the Orange and Blue pull ahead to a 16-11 lead in the game. Building on her breakout performance against Memphis, freshman Petra Holešínská contributed four first-quarter points for the Illini to help maintain the early. Lead. The Illini did not commit a turnover in the first period of the game, but forced three from USC Upstate, scoring four points off of those turnovers.
Freshman Ali Andrews came up big in the second quarter, surpassing her previous career-high with 10 points in the period. She joined Wittinger in double-digits as the Illini took a 36-27 advantage into the locker room at the half. The Illini outrebounded USC Upstate 24-15 in the first half, and held the Spartans without a three-point field goal before the break.
"I think the motivation from my teammates," Andrews said of what motivated her in today's game. "They keep my head up high when I'm missing shots. It's not about you out there, it's about your team, and they really keep my head up high."
The Illini continued to hold the lead after the break as six Illini scored in the third quarter, led by freshman Brandi Beasley's five points. Illinois and USC Upstate traded field goals to start the third period, but the Illini went on a 7-0 run to pull ahead to a 16-point lead in the period. The Spartans remained scoreless from beyond the arc throughout the period, and redshirt junior Kennedy Cattenhead crossed into double-figures, putting up four points in the period. Sophomore Jaelyne Kirkpatrick dished three assists in the third quarter, and was just two assists away from her career-high of eight heading into the fourth period.
"It looked like we had a better feel against the zone today, we knew where we wanted the ball to go and how we wanted the ball to move," Bollant said. "I think the first few threes we shot were a little quick and not as good of shots as we got in the second and third quarter. Once we settled down today our ball movement was better and we got the shots we felt like we could make a high percentage of."
The Illini continued their balanced ways in the fourth quarter as six players put points on the board. Kirkpatrick scored all five of her points in the closing period. The Illini held USC Upstate to 15.4-percent shooting from distance overall. The Illini hit eight three-pointers on the day, led by Joens who went 3-for-6 from distance overall.
Illinois outrebounded USC Upstate 49-28 on the day, including grabbing 19 offensive rebounds as a team. Wittinger tallied eight of those offensive boards.
Next up, the Illini will host Mercer at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The game will mark the beginning of Illinois' holiday toy drive, and fans can redeem their ticket stub from the Illinois men's basketball game against Winthrop on Monday evening.
Notes
-The Illini improved to 2-2 on the season with a 77-57 victory over USC Upstate on Sunday afternoon.
-Illinois outscored Upstate 32-20 in the paint.
-The Illini tallied nine turnovers, the fewest in a contest this season
-Illinois capitalized on 19 offensive rebounds, scoring 22 second chance points.
-The Illini led for 38:55 in the contest and never trailed.
-Five Illini put up double-digit scoring numbers, and eight Illini contributed points in the game.
-Illinois' 20-point margin of victory is the largest this season.
-Sophomore Alex Wittinger earned her third consecutive double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. She has put up double-digit scoring numbers in all of Illinois' games this season, and her 13 rebounds mark a season-high.
-Freshman Ali Andrews put up a career-high 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting. She was 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
-Freshman Courtney Joens scored a career-best 11 point on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor. She was 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
-Freshman Brandi Beasley scored a career-high 11 points and swatted a career-best three steals.
-Redshirt junior Kennedy Cattenhead posted a season-best 11 points and seven rebounds on the day.
